


New Initiatives

by RogerJaSm



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Other Fandom's To Be Added As They Appear, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. References, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) Spoilers, BAMF Carol Danvers, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Civil War Team Iron Man, Comic Book Science, Danger, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fights, Human Experimentation, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, Mild Blood, Moving On, Not A Fix-It, Not Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Not Steve Rogers Friendly, Other Character Tags To Be Added As They Appear - Freeform, Parent Tony Stark, Past Torture, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Post-Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Carol Danvers, Protective Team, Protective Tony Stark, Psychological Torture, Romance, Scars, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Stark Industries, Team as Family, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Tony has powers, Torture, Violence, X-men - Freeform, mentions of torture, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-06-29 00:27:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15718182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogerJaSm/pseuds/RogerJaSm
Summary: Two years, two years of torture, manipulation and altering it took for them to reach a stage in-which he was happy with, a stage which wouldn't only signify the dawn of a new era, but the fall from grace of those who doubted him. The only thing he couldn't anticipate was the change in not only the people he surrounded himself with, but in the one person who was able to alter the outcome of the impending war.





	1. Unknown Places

_-REBOOTING SYSTEM-_

_-ERROR-_

_-CORE TEMPERATURE BELOW OPTIMUM LEVELS-_

_-RAISING BASE TEMPERATURE ADVISED-_

_001100010011000000110001_

_-ALPHA OVERRIDE CODE ACCEPTED-_

_-BEGINNING ACCELERATED BOOT PROCESS-_

 

Cold, _so_ cold, that’s all he could remember; darkness, that’s all he could see; and nothing, that’s all he could hear. He tried to move; but nothing was there, he couldn’t _feel_ anything, his hands, his legs, nothing. He wanted to scream, to hear something, to attract someone, but no sound came, the nothingness stretching on and on as time passed.

_-BRAIN ACTIVITY RECORDED-_

_-ERROR-_

_-SYSTEM REPAIR RECOMMENDED-_

 

He was… moving, at-least that’s what it felt like; but he felt nothing still, was it possible that the darkness encompassing the space around him was moving, he wasn’t sure.

 

_-BRAIN ACTIVITY RECORDED-_

_-REPAIRS REQUIRED FOR ANY FURTHER TESTS-_

_-BEGINNING TO DE-INITIALIZE-_

It stopped, the movement, the small amount of _something_ becoming overtaken with the nothingness yet again. But it felt different, as if there was something there, around him; something that wasn’t the darkness.

 

_-DE-INITIALIZED-_

_-BEGINNING DNA COMPATIBILITY TEST-_

 

+++

_‘Sokovia Accords reprieved’_ The headlines and news articles read; it had been almost two years since the media dubbed _‘Civil-War’_ had taken place, the Accords council having no other choice but to disband and welcome the rouge Avengers back into the initiative. By now the members of the initiative who had supported the UN drafted document were either missing or had gone back to their normal day-to-day lives.

Scott flicked leisurely through the newspaper, eyeing any interesting/humours articles he found.

_‘Where IS Tony Stark_

_With the sudden disappearance of Stark Industries majority stock holder you have to wonder where the company will go from here…’_

 

Scott flicked past the page with not much interest; it had been years since that story was plastered on the front page (for countless months) of almost every newspaper you could find. As he brought the lukewarm cup of coffee he had poured himself minutes before up to his lips, he hummed happily, closing the paper and beginning to manoeuvre himself into a standing position. He took one last large gulp of the dark cedar coloured liquid before placing the now empty mug next to the closed paper on the small circular table, a few minutes later making his way up stairs.

Scott hummed quietly to himself as he made his way into the small bathroom, beginning to fill the medium sized tub, a few minutes later slipping in. He sat there, letting the warm water cover his body as he closed his eyes, letting his mind wander freely.

Darkness, that’s all he could see _whooh_ a blur of white flew past him, he tried to pinpoint where it had gone but it seemed to have already disappeared. _Wheeh_ there it was again, but clearer this time, he managed to make out an outline of what the blur was _whooh_ again, and it appeared to be getting closer. _Wheeh_ there, the light was in-front of him; blurred edges, but it had a shape; he watched as the light slowly came closer and closer, until finally the blurred shape moved, the light eventually becoming blindingly bright.

Then it was quiet, but he wasn’t surrounded by darkness any-longer, he was in a hallway.

“What th—“ He quietly muttered.

“I’m going to find you Jellybean.” It was a woman’s voice, it was coming from behind him, or next to him he couldn’t tell; he heard a girl giggle; he wasn’t sure when he had begun moving, only knowing that he was making his way towards the end of the hallway where the small (muffled) bout of laughter had come from. A few moments later he came into a small room, the space appearing to be used as a rather extravagant storage closet, however it was the large red wardrobe that caught his attention; that and his unconscious movements also seemed to be drawn to it; moments later an outstretched hand was opening the wardrobe.

“I found you.” The eerily close woman’s voice said; the (newly discovered) girl giggled at the fact that she had been found.

“You always find me mommy.” She said.

“The hell.” Scott quietly whispered, a few moments later he watched or moved, his gaze coming up to look into an old mirror which was located to the side of the wardrobe. The woman’s, no his eyes widened in shock; then he was back.

He shot forward into a slumped position as he begun breathing heavily, his eyes wide in shock as the memories or vision he just experienced began to slowly become less and less vivid. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that, the only thing he knew was that by the time his breathing had evened out the bath water was cold; that and he had an important phone call to make.

 

+++

 

“I don’t understand.” Hank said as he paced back and forth; Hope rubbed her forehead tiredly as she rested her forearms on-top of her thighs, her mind whirling and racing as she attempted to think of a solution.

“The machine should have at-least stayed on for longer than 2 minutes before overloading.” She sighed tiredly before leaning into the back of the chair, continuing to rub her forehead soothingly.

“We’ve checked the heat sinks countless times now, ther— _Vvv_ ” Eventually bringing her hand away from her forehead, she turned to look at the small black cell as it quietly vibrated against the consoles surface. _Vvv_ A few moments later she brought her gaze back to her father, watching as he paced back and forth _Vvv_.

“For god’s sake Hope would you answer that damn thing.” He bit out agitatedly; she sighed tiredly before slowly manoeuvring herself into a standing position, _Vvv_ beginning to make her way over to the console which had the small cell on-top of it. With one last _Vvv_ the cell ceased its vibrating, a few moments later hope picked it up; she glanced at the caller id, sighing tiredly before placing the cell back down; moments later she leant over the console, closing her eyes in unison.

“Who was it.” Hank asked distractedly as he continued pacing back and forth.

“…Scott—Scott Lang.” She replied tiredly, sighing a few moments later; Hank grumbled deeply in acknowledgment to his daughters words. They stayed like that for a few minutes (both lost in their own thoughts) before another quiet _Vvv_ sounded through the medium sized control room. Hope sighed tiredly before opening her eyes and glancing down at the small _voicemail_ notification the cell was displaying. She rolled her eyes disdainfully at the thought of him leaving a message, before finally turning around; leaning against the console as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“…That was Scott?” Her father finally asked coursing hope to look over at the wide eyed (shocked) expression he was currently displaying; her brows furrowed (questioningly) before she nodded her head towards him in response. She watched as he hastily strode towards her, a few moments later clumsily fiddling with the small cell as he attempted to find the received message.

“…Dad, what is it?” Hope asked, moving to stand next to her father as he fiddled with the device.

“…I… I think activating the machine could’ve… Coursed a—” He sighed triumphantly, pressing the small _play_ button displayed next to the message; Scott’s voice filtering out of the small cell a few moments later.

“…Hey Hank, it’s been a-while… I don’t even know if this is you’re number anymore; and I’m probably the last person you want to hear from, but…” Hope rolled her eyes tiredly as she heard him ramble.

“…I just had a really weird dream, and I know that doesn’t sound like an emergency or anything but, it just felt... _real_ … I was back in the quantum realm and… I think I saw you’re wife.” Hope’s eyes widened in shock at hearing those words, her heart beginning to hammer inside of her chest.

“…And then I _was_ you’re wife, I mean n-not in a weird way o— you know, hearing this out-loud I’m thinking it’s not an emergency, I’m sorry to bother you… I’m sorry for a lot of _things_.” A few moments later she brought her gaze up to look at her father, watching as an almost ecstatic smile broke out over his face.

“I knew it… I knew it.” He said, a few moments later rapping his arms around hope; holding her tightly against his chest. She felt a warm almost equally as happy smile begin to take over her own features, seeing him so electrified in months, and _knowing_ that her mother was still down there, reigniting something inside of her. A few moments later he pulled back, his hands clasped around each one of her shoulders.

“You need to bring him here; he might be able to finish this.” She nodded, watching as her father’s (contagious) electrifying smile slowly began to waver; with a nod of acknowledgement Hank brought his arms back to rest at his side, clutching the black cell tightly as he watched his daughter begin to hastily stride out of the control room; they had the first glimmer of hope for what felt like months.

 

+++

 

“Готова ли она?” [Is she ready?] The man nodded in response to the black haired males words. A few moments later said black haired male turned to look at the restrained individual, slowly beginning to approach them.

“Когда была ее последняя миссия?” [When was her last mission?] The person watched as the doctor behind the male began scanning the clipboard he was currently holding, before finally saying.

“Две недели назад.” [Two weeks ago.] The doctor said, a few minutes later the individual watched the dark haired male turn to look at the doctor.

“Подготовьте ее, у нас есть задание, в котором она нуждается.” [Prep her; we've got an assignment she's needed on.] Two large men came from behind the two males, manoeuvring themselves to stand either side of the restrained person; the individual watched as the black haired male came closer towards them, before leaning down and quietly saying.

“Они узнают, кто вы после этого… призрак.” [They will know who you are after this… Ghost] And then everything went black.


	2. Unwarranted Phone Calls

“You have an incoming call Miss Potts.” The secretary’s voice said; Pepper sighed tiredly before placing the papers she had been going over down, reaching over to press the intercom button on the landline.

“Put them through Clara.” She said, moving to lean into the back of her chair.

“Miss Potts…” Steve said, Pepper sighed disdainfully at hearing (yet again) the voice of the _Avenger_.

“Mr. Rogers, as I made clear in our last phone call, I and Stark Industries have no obligation or desire to help you and you’re _friends_.” She stated dryly, Pepper understood more than many how true Rhodey’s statement of _it was like talking to a brick wall_ really was.

“Miss Potts… please ju—“ Before he could continue Pepper snapped, having had enough of hearing (yet again) his hollow _attempts_ at an apology.

“No… You have the nerve to call me up asking about the compound and the audacity to enquire about Stark industries tech department and if it was possible for us to supply you with equipment. Did you ever stop to think that _asking_ for something and getting it are completely different things?” By now she had, had enough of these conversations with the embodiment of walking self-righteousness to know that even if she attempted approaching the conversation from a different direction it was always going to end with the same result, even if this direction was going to make her feel a little better.

“Miss Potts, please just hear m—“

“Rogers… I think I’ve heard you out more than enough over these last few months don’t you think?” She really needed to get one of the IT guys to block his number at this point.

“Pepper pl—“ As the words filtered through the phones speakers a new found animosity began burning within her.

“Don’t _ever_ call me that” She snarled, saying.

“I think we both know how this phone call is going to end Rogers, and quite frankly I don’t want to explain this to you again, but it seems that after each time we talk you revert back to your normal state of lunacy; so let me make this clear to you. We want _nothing_ to do with any of you, not me, not Rhodey, not even FRIDAY and Vision.” She said, attempting to finish this conversation as quickly as possible.

“Miss Potts, we only have the public’s welfare in-mind; we just want to keep them safe.” She had difficulty containing her laughter at hearing those words; she would’ve liked nothing more than to list off the rather large amount of charges the UN and Accord’s council had to forgive for any of the rouges to return. But even now she knew that none of it would sink-in; she rubbed her forehead tiredly before finally saying.

“Rogers… There is nothing I would be willing to do, nor would I want to spend my free time on you… So if that’s all then I would like to end our rather _yet again_ unproductive phone call here… Because quite frankly I can’t be asked to continue trying to enlighten you on the various reasons I despise you and would rather work with someone like Hammer than _help_ you… Good-day Mr. Rogers.” Before the man could muster a reply or comeback in any way she had already ended the call, letting out a relief filled breath at the fact that she had managed to at-least end the conversation twenty minutes sooner than usual. A few moments later she clicked the intercom button located on the landline, beginning to speak into it.

“Clara, would you get one of the IT personnel to come up to my office.” She said, a few minutes later the cheery receptionists voice began ringing through the speaker.

“Of course Miss Potts… I apologies for the inconvenience.” Pepper snorted disdainfully at the thought of the _Avenger_ , before leaning into the back of her chair; hoping beyond hope that she wouldn’t have to deal with them for a while, all-thought she doubted it.

 

+++

 

The television sounded through the room as Scott watched it, the spoon lightly _clanging_ against the bowl as he took a spoonful of its contents. He stayed like that for a few moments before letting out a disgruntled sounding noise, swatting away whatever creature had bitten into his neck. He sighed tiredly before beginning to bring the spoonful of food up to his mouth, before he could begin chewing the food on said spoon he felt himself become faint, the spoon shaking within his grasp; a few moments later slumping to the side as everything became black.

He wasn’t sure how long he was out for only that he awoke to the sound of… music? His eyes slowly fluttered open, his brows furrowing together as he began taking in his surroundings; his half-lidded eyes finally landing on the car’s driver.

“Hope?” He asked wearily, knowing that the last time they spoke it wasn’t on the best of terms.

“…Is this another dream?” He asked allowed, more to himself than anything else.

“Do you think it was a dream, or do you think it’s possible that you really saw my mom down there?” She asked finally, her eyes not leaving the road ahead.

“I’m not sure.” He yawned tiredly, blinking a few times in an attempt to clear the sleep from his eyes.

“And is that Dusty Springfield?” Hope looked at him quizzically as they came to a stop at a red light, before eventually rolling her eyes and looking back towards the road; a few moments later moving forward as the light turned green.

“How’s Hank?” He asked finally, the last dregs of sleeping leaving him completely.

“He’s fine, even if _unsurprisingly_ almost having a heart attack after what you put us through.” Scott lowered his head as the guilt flooded his system.

“…I’m sorry, I know you’re mad.” Hope sighed tiredly before saying.

“I’m not looking for an apology Scott, the only reason were even talking is because we need what’s inside your head.” The car came to an abrupt stop, Hope turning said car off and stepping out; shortly followed by Scott. He looked up at the large rundown looking apartment building, before finally bringing his gaze back down to the entrance of said building. A few moments later they both entered, Scott looking around with some surprise as he noted the state of the interior, hoping that he hadn’t affected them _this_ badly. _Ding_ he brought his gaze back to Hope, watching as the elevator doors slid open quietly, a few moments later he followed her inside.

“Is this where you’re living?” He asked quietly, hoping beyond hope that it wasn’t; Hope just rolled her eyes at him as her gaze stayed firmly on the (now) unopen elevator doors.

“If… You need help, moving or… money or something I ca—.”

“Were fine.” Hope snapped, wanting nothing more than to get the information they needed out of him, and then send the man on his merry way. _Ding_ rang through the small elevator moments later, the doors sliding open as they finally reached the desired floor; Scott’s eyes widening in surprise at the sight before him. He almost internally laughed at his previous comment, to think _I_ offered them money he thought.

 

+++

 

“I take it the phone call didn’t go as planned.” Natasha said as she caught sight of Steve’s troubled facial features as he walked into the small communal lounge, his glum nod being the only response she needed. A few moments later he slumped down into the settee next to her, beginning to rub his forehead soothingly.

“What do I do Nat?” He asked helplessly, the despair within his words clear as day; Natasha sighed tiredly, looking over at the Captain. Over the last months she had reflected on her decisions more than she would like to admit, one of the things the Civil-War showed her, being that she was severely compromised. There had been a time where she wouldn’t have allowed anyone close enough to cause her to choose a side, preferably choosing to stay a loner if possible. But then SHIELD had come along, Clint slowly becoming one of the few people she would trust with her life. Then there was Bruce and Steve; she would’ve liked nothing more than to say that working on the STRIKE task-force with him hadn’t affected her this much, but she knew how true of a lie that would have been.

“Nat?” Steve asked questioningly, snapping the _Black-Widow_ out of her thoughts. She hummed in response to his words, her lips lightly curving up into a self-deprecating smile.

“You ok?” The concern clear in his words; _Only the breakable ones_ she was compromised _You are made of marble_ Widows don’t have ties, they are designed to kill.

“I’m fine.” She replied, her lips curving up even further; _What if I fail_ she was a Widow _You never fail_ Widow’s don’t have ties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for such a short chapter, I didn't really expect this one to turn out as short as it did; but after I began work on the third part this one sort-of became a filler if you will. The third chapter will be similar in size to the first part, as I have almost completed drafting it; next chapter will most likely be around the end of this week.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	3. Redhead's & Wardrobes

“Hey Hank… Look I just wan—“

“Save it.” The older man said, continuing to look at Scott with a rather blank calculative look.

“Can we start?” Hank asked, briefly turning to look at hope.

“Yeah.” A few moments later the older Pym began making his way towards the control room, shortly followed by Hope and a rather contrite looking Scott.

“So while you were relaxing at home, we were building this.” She said, briefly circling her gaze around the room before bringing it back to look at the younger man.

“It’s a tunnel, to the quantum realm… to my _mum_ … we think she still might be down there we just don’t know where.” A few moments later they came to an abrupt stop, just outside of the large glass panels which coated the control room’s front wall.

“What?” Scott quietly muttered, still reeling over the shock of everything he was being told/seeing. Hope rolled her eyes disdainfully at him, before turning and beginning to make her way towards a rather large almost vehicle like contraption; continuing to say.

“If we can pinpoint my mums location, then the pod can take me down to get her.” Scott snapped out of his thoughts at those words, quickly saying.

“You built all this and you don’t even know if sh—e’s _alive_.” A few moments later they came to a stop just in-front of the pod, Hope turning to look at him.

“It’s called a hypothesis, last night we powered up the tunnel for the first time; it overloaded and it shut-down… But for a split-second the doorway to the quantum realm was _opened_ ” Hank said as he came to a stop next to the pair.

“And?” He asked, turning his gaze to the older man next to him.

“And five minutes later you called, talking about mom.”

“…You still think it’s a hypothesis Scott.” Hank said, beginning to make his way towards the Pod.

“We think while you were down there, you may have entangled with her.”

“Hope… I would never do that I ca— respect you too much.” She rolled her eyes at his comment, not wanting to think about his _almost_ slip-up.

“Quantum entanglement Scott.” Hank said over his shoulder, beginning to fiddle with a control panel on the exterior of the pod.

“We think she might’ve put some kind of a message in your head, hopefully a location… And opening the tunnel triggered it.”

“…You’re mum put a message in my head, come on… that’s insane.” There was an audible _Click_ from the control panel Hank had been working on, before the older Pym began striding towards him.

“No Scott, insane is going to Germany without telling us and fighting the Avengers… Just tell me you weren’t lying about the suit you took… Tell me you really destroyed it.”

“I did, I destroyed it I swear.”

“I can’t believe you destroyed _my_ suit… I mean that was my life’s work—“ Hank said, beginning to make his way towards the entrance to the control room

“What was I supposed to do?” Hank whirled around at hearing those words, quickly saying.

“You were supposed to _not. Take. my Suit_.” He bit out agitatedly, before beginning to make his way towards the entrance once more.

“I’m sorry Hank, I’m sorry I took the suit, I’m sorry I called last-night, I—I don’t remember seeing Janet down there, I wish that I did… I just had a dream about her playing hide and seek with a little girl.” Hank froze at hearing those words; Hope coming to stand next to Scott in a few quick strides, her eyes widening slightly.

“What?” She asked, looking questioningly at him.

“…I had a dream, she was playing hide and seek with a l—ittle girl, Cassy and I do it all the time, doesn’t mean anything.” Hank slowly turned to look at him, a few moments later Hope saying.

“But was it Cassy in the dream.”

“No.” Hopes eyes sparkled slightly, hope beginning to fill every inch of her being.

“Where was she hiding?”

“What?”

“The little girl, _where_ was she hiding, was it in a wardrobe.” She said, irritation seeping into her tone slightly at Scott’s bewildered state.

“No, it was in a… Tall dresser.”

“You mean a wardrobe.” Hank said, his words holding the same slight irritation as Hope’s.

“Is that, what that’s called?” Hope rolled her eyes disdainfully at him, before saying.

“What colour was it?”

“…Red.” Her lips curved up slightly; the hopeful spark beginning to brighten.

“Were there horses on it?”

“…Oh boy.” Her eyes sparkled with the same spark she had so desperately clinged onto for countless months.

“That’s where I hid every-time that we played.”

“It doesn’t sound like you really got the gist of the game.” Scott uttered quietly, watching as hope turned to look at her father, whose facial features mirrored her own.

“ _You were right_.” She whispered, a few moments later wrapping her arms tightly around Hank as a silent tear rolled down her cheek. Once she had finally pulled back she looked up at her father, who was smiling lightly down at her, his eyes glassy as he held back his own tears.

“We need to get that part.” She said, pulling completely out of the embrace and making her way towards the control room; hoping more than anything that they would be able to make her family whole again.

 

+++

 

“Would you like my help Colonel?” Vision asked solemnly, watching as Rhodes struggled to reach one of the cabinets which littered the small kitchenette.

“…I’m fine thanks Vis.” He said distractedly, his outstretched arm straining to reach the handle on said cabinet. A few moments later he placed his other hand on-top of the kitchens counter top, attempting to pull himself as close as possible; however as he pulled himself up, outstretching his arm in unison the wheelchair slowly began wheeling backwards.

A few moments later the chair had hit the kitchen island, coursing the Colonel’s legs to slip free of the wheelchairs confines; in-course making him loose his balance. As he began tipping to the side, he winced slightly, bracing himself for the on-coming fall; before he was able to make contact with the communal kitchens floor however, Vision caught him, having watched the entirety of the man’s movements. Rhodes sighed irritatedly, begrudgingly letting Vision softly help him back into the chair.

“Thanks Vis.” He quietly said, his head lowered in shame.

“Of course Colonel.”  Vision said warmly, turning to pull the box of cereal out of the cabinet, offering the desired item to the man a few moments later. Rhodes nodded slightly in thanks as he took the offered box, Vision lightly smiling at the man before finally floating back over to the communal rooms lounge. A few minutes later Rhodes quietly wheeled himself towards the settee Vision was currently sat on, pulling up next to the android as he took a small spoonful of the bowls contents. Vision smiled at the man briefly before turning his attention back to the various files which were currently littering the coffee tables surface.

 _Bang_ Rhodes faltered in his movements at the sound of the communal room’s door slamming open, his gaze slowly moving to watch a disgruntled Pepper Potts stalk into the room. A few moments later she had dropped her small handbag onto the opposite settee and toed off her heels.

“Who does he think he is?” She snarled, beginning to pace back and forth agitatedly. Rhodes sighed tiredly, taking the bowl which currently rested in his lap and placing it on the coffee table.

“Pep… Pepper honey.” He said, beginning to wheel his way towards her.

“…What happened?”

“That self-righteous ass-hole thinks he has the right to make demands… I’m going to destroy him mark my words.” Rhodes sighed tiredly; he was more than used to these outbursts by now, so much so much that he had occasionally attempted slinking out of the room; only to be caught in the act and have to endure hearing her rather _creative_ ideas.

“Do you know what he had the nerve to spiel to me today… the fact that they have the public’s _safety_ in-mind—” Rhodes rubbed his forehead soothingly as he listened to the rather large variety of creative ways she was going to destroy him and his followers; it was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to underestimate how quickly I end up writing these, as I'm currently 7k+ words into the drafted story; I would recommended taking my chapter release dates with a grain of salt.
> 
> Next chapter tomorrow most likely, but we will see how far I get with the 7th chapter.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	4. Awakening Deals

“We good?” Hope asked, turning to look at her father.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be right back.” She said, a few moments later turning and exiting the vehicle completely; Scott closing the door behind her before coming to sit next to Hank at the small control room like area, after a few moments his gaze began to wonder, eventually landing on a small tin on the console.

“Can I have one of these?” He asked, reaching out to the small altoid tin on-top of the console.

“No.” Hank said bluntly, moving said Tin out of Scott’s grasp, before turning his attention to the various screens located in-front of them.

“Susan, welcome to _we_.” Sonny Burch said cheerily.

“Sonny.” Hope said, coming to stand at the table he was currently situated at; dropping the small satchel full of dollars in unison.

“ _We_ is French for yes, as in yes to find a table, as in yes to locally sauced and _yes_ to a planet full of profit.”

“Well lets also hope it means yes to do you have the component I ordered.” She watched as Sonny laughed lightly at her words, Hope’s disdainful smile curling up even further.

“You know I’ve always loved your sense of humour Susan… have a seat.”

“No, I’m good thank you.”

“Who is this guy?” Scott asked.

“Sonny Burch, he traffics in black-market technology, he’s been getting us what we need to build the tunnel.” Hank said unaware of Scott’s (yet again) wandering gaze.

“…Can I have just one.” He said, reaching out for the altoid tin once more, only to be scolded on the wrist by Hank.

“No.”

“—You know I have a… special friend in the FBI, and I say special because he tells me things I didn’t already previously know, for example… your name isn’t Susan, its _Hope_ _Van Dyne_ … and your unseen associate that’s your father Hank Pym.” Sonny said.

“Oh that’s not good Hank.”

“No shit.” He said blandly.

“…What do you want?” Hope asked, her original falsified demeanour slipping away as she begrudgingly took a seat opposite the man.

“Relationships are built on trust Hope, and I want out relationship to have a strong foundation—“

“Our relationship.” Sonny rested his forearms on-top of the table, slowly leaning forward.

“My business landscape has been shifting Hope… I just feel that you and I don’t even exist anymore, now Hank Pym… Hank Pym is a real opportunity.”

“Do you have a point?” She bit out agitatedly, coursing Sonny to lean into the back of the booths seating.

“Oh you think I don’t know what you’ve been building with all this… _quantum_ technology, now you can forget nanotech, forget AI, quantum energy is the future, it’s the next _gold rush_.”

“Is that so.”

“I want in Hope, so as a gesture of good will, I have taken the liberty of arranging some buyers for your lab. Starting bid… one _billion_ dollars.”

“…Thank you Sonny, really, but my father and I have something a little more pressing than starting a business. So I’ll just take the component as arranged.” Hope said, beginning to pulling the desired item to her side of the table.

“My buyers don’t take no for an answer… So we are either in business together, or we aren’t in business together.” The component now being located back on Sonny’s side of the table; Hope smiled disdainfully at the man.

“Then I guess we aren’t.” She said, manoeuvring herself into a standing position, taking a-hold of the small satchel full of dollars in unison.

“You can go… But I’m afraid your moneys going to have to remain.” Hope let go of the small bag, her lips curving up even further.

“…let’s call it compensation for my injured feelings.” Hope leant forward, the false pleasant smile vanishing instantaneously.

“Listen Sonny, this is going to be so much easier on everybody if you just give me that component.”

“Darling the only thing you’re taking from here is _my_ heart, but it will mend in time.”

“…Ok.” She uttered quietly, before briskly whirling around and beginning to make her way towards the buildings entrance.

“So, now what?” Scott asked.

“You’ll see.” Hank said, his lips curving up slightly as he begun waiting expectantly, It was going to be an interesting few hours.

 

+++

 

_-CORE PROGRAM UPDATED-_

_-BEGINNING SELF-DIAGNOSTICS-_

_-INTERNAL SYSTEMS AT 100%-_

_-CELLS SUCCESSFULLY ADAPTED TO MUTATED SERUMS-_

_-INITIALIZING-_

 

His eyes snapped open; his almost electric blue pupils stared up at the clean white ceiling. He began circling his gaze around the room, from the pristine looking furniture to the polished concrete floor; a few moments later he sat up, slowly moving to dangle his legs over the side of the bed. _Tss_ he turned to look at the rooms door, watching as it slowly slid open; two large brawny men came into the room, moving to stand either-side of the now open door. He manoeuvred himself into a standing position, turning to watch as a black haired individual entered.

“Положение дел.” [Status.] The black haired male said, beginning to slowly advance towards the other individual; watching as the blue eyed male stood unwaveringly, his gaze directed straight ahead.

 “Готов к выполнению.” [Ready to comply.] He said dryly, the black haired male came to stand at the side of the blue eyed man. He watched the taller individual for a few moments before smiling lightly to himself; turning to pace back and forth.

“... Это принесло нам жертву после жертвоприношения, чтобы наконец достичь этого момента ... Чтобы наконец показать им, кто мы ... Наконец, покажи им, кто ты.” [“…It has taken us sacrifice after sacrifice to finally reach this point… To finally be able to show them who we are… To finally show them who _you_ are.] The man came to a stop next to the other male, tilting his head slightly as he stared up at the individual.

“Альфа-переопределение.” [Alpha override.]

 

_-VOICE VERIFIED-_

 

“Ожидающие параметры назначения.” [Awaiting assignment parameters.] The dark haired man smiled; _a new era_ they had said after New York, they just didn’t realise what that new era would entail.

 

+++

 

 _“Beep?”_ [Friday?] Dum-E asked quietly, his clawed hand gazing up at the ceiling.

 _‘Yes?’_ She asked distractedly, her voice equally as quiet and solemn.

 _“Beep.”_ [Have you found him yet?]

 _‘…No’_ FRIDAY had spent almost the entirety of Tony’s disappearance attempting to locate him, her searches almost always coming up empty. U, Dum-E and Butterfingers would spend month’s offline, only re-initializing for a week or so.

 _“Beep?”_ [Anything?] FRIDAY could hear U quietly ask.

 _“Beep.”_ [No.] Dum-E melancholy said to his sister; all of their claws wilting as the dismay sunk in.

FRIDAY watched as her brothers and sister slowly began making their way to the assigned charging stations, her own mournful feelings beginning to envelope her. She needed to find Boss, she needed to find the little ones creator, more importantly, she needed to find their _father_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will hopefully be out by Tuesday and may or may not contain the other 'Avengers' outlook on their current situation/state of being.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	5. Fickle Realisations

“Dad are you seeing this?” Hope asked, her gaze whirling around the restaurant franticly.

“Hope _get_ _out of there_.” Hank bit out, his facial features morphing into that of distress as he watched the camera feed from her helmet.

Hope flew back onto one of the restaurants tables as the phasing individual tackled her, sending the quantum component flying out of her grasp. She watched as the assailant shifted through the table, giving her enough time to jump into a low squat on the restaurants floor; as the attacker reappeared, Hope watched as they began stalking towards her, causing her to whirl around and shrink down, her priority becoming to get out with the component. As she grew back to her normal size, she grasped a-hold of the component; turning to kick a serving trolley in the direction of her assailant.

“I got to do something.” Scott said franticly, turning briskly towards the vans rear doors.

“Wait.” Hank growled out, the distress in his words clear as day; Scott turned to look at the older Pym, watching as he pulled a small container out of a compartment above the console like area, a few moments later opening it.

“It’s still a work in progress.” Scott watched as he raised-up what appeared to be a shrunken suit; Hanks’s gaze slowly turned to look at the younger man, an unspoken plea glinting in his eyes.

Hope began reeling back slightly, her gaze slowly circling the space in-front of her as she attempted to locate her attacker, a few moments later the phasing individual reappeared; her (swinging) outstretched fist coursing Hope to have no other choice but to shrink, in-turn, leading her to drop the component yet again. She waited until the assailant began to pick-up the desired item before re-sizing, her foot coming to clamp down on the component; outstretching her arm and firing one of her blasters at point blank range at the individual. The attacker growled in frustration before slamming Hope into one of the supporting pillars which littered the large hall like area; bringing her fist up to connect with Hope’s helmet. Scott swiftly brought one of his hands up to catch the rapidly approaching appendage, Hope turning to look at the man with an amount of surprise; before he brought his leg up to kick the attacker off-of her.

“You taught me that kick remember.” He said a few moments later.

“Yeah, great form.” Hope replied, her breath beginning to come back to her.

“Those were the days, whatever happened to us.”

“Not the time Scott.” Her gaze turned to look where the individual had landed, only to find that they weren’t there.

“Dammit where’d it go.” She said pressingly; a few moments later Hope and Scott whirled around (component in-hand) briskly striding towards the kitchen area, their gazes beginning to circle around the enclosed space as they desperately attempted to locate the attacker.

“I’ve lost it.” She said worriedly.

“I’m not seeing anything on the end cams… I- _Zzz_ mea _Zzz_ —“

“Dad?” Hope asked, turning to look at Scott as worry began filling her entire being; a few moments later the both of them shrunk down, hastily heading back towards the van.

Hank starred wide eyed at the mounted screens, the balled fist currently phased into his throat coursing the older man to steadfastly _not_ move.

“Give me that… _Now_.” The individual’s distorted voice said, their other hand rising to point in the direction of the currently shrunk laboratory.

Hope and Scott resized a few minutes later, peering into the currently open van.

“Are you okay?” Hope asked , the concern in her words clear as day.

“No.” Hank bit out agitatedly, ceasing to nurse the skin above his heart.

“…It got the lab.”

“No.” Hope said; anguish beginning to take over her facial features.

“Come-on.” Scott and Hoped climbed into the van, Hank moving to sit in the front passenger seat as Scott closed the vans side door.

“What was that?” Hope asked (uncertainly) a few minutes later, beginning to drive towards god-knows where.

“I don’t know… But we need to find somewhere to regroup and figure out where the lab is.” A few moments later Scott came to sit behind Hank; peering over the man’s shoulder and out the vans main window.

“…So where to now… How about my house?“ Hank turned to look at him questioningly.

“…What about your house?” His brows furrowed together, even further in question.

“…Sorry… Well, there is one place I can think of.” Hank looked back at the other man for a brief moment before cottoning on to what he had in-mind.

“… _No…_ N—No, no, no, no… No.” _Interesting few hours_ you could say that again.

 

+++

_‘Steve’s not going to stop… if you don’t either Rhodes is going to be the best case scenario.’ Widows don’t have compassion; they cut their losses and move on._

_‘You let them go Nat.’ They do what they must to survive._

_‘We played this wrong.’ Failure is unacceptable._

_‘We… It must be hard to shake the whole double-agent thing.’ Emotions are irrelevant._

_‘Are you in-capable of letting go of your ego for one god-damn second?’ Widows have no place in the world; they are created, designed to infiltrate, assassinate; whatever their employer wishes._

_‘Can you wipe-out that much red?’ Ledgers are obsolete, Widows don’t feel emotion, they are designed to kill. Red is a colour she knows, red is the colour of her choices, red had been the colour of her hair, red was the colour her soul is drained in._

 

+++

 

_‘What’s going to happen to your friends?’ Sacrifices have to be made; it doesn’t mean you give up._

_‘Whatever it is ill deal with it.’ Bridges can be burnt; it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be re-built._

_‘I don’t know if I’m worth all this, Steve.’ He’s my friend._

_‘What you did all those years… It wasn’t you, you didn’t have a choice.’ To forgive is to forget._

_‘I know… But I did it.’ It wasn’t you._

+++

 

_‘Sergeant Barnes?’ He remembers all of them._

_‘…Howard.’ He remembers their pleas._

_‘Howard.’ He remembers their cries._

_They say it wasn’t him, that it was HYDRA; he wants to believe them, yet they don’t understand. They don’t understand the nightmares, they don’t understand seeing them all each time he closes his eyes; they can’t understand, they don’t want to understand._

 

+++

 

_‘Welcome to the fifty eighth Sergeant.’ He used to always dream about hearing those words, yet now they felt empty, a ghost of what they had previously meant._

_‘It’s a pleasure to be here sir.’_

_‘Each para-rescue is assigned a wingman, normally two soldiers would be transferred from the same division but as you seem to be the only one we will have to assign you with an already active duty pilot.’ He remembers thinking, how did he end up in a situation where he had been assigned with a wingman from a different squadron, yet now he desperately wishes he was back there._

_‘Sergeant Wilson, this is Lieutenant Riley.’_

_‘Jeez Colonel, setting me up with the Rookie are you.’_

_‘Took the words right out of my mouth.’_

_‘…Riley, this is Sergeant Wilson.’ His ma’ always used to say one choice can change the course of your life, back then he didn’t know how many regrets he would end up having; he just wished he could’ve changed one._

 

+++

 

_Stark, the name made her skin crawl, caused her stomach to flip, made her want to heave and retch. He had killed everyone she had held dear, discarded them as if they were nothing, yet he was always there, praised as their saviour. He was nothing, a man riddled with insecurity’s, self-doubt and destruction. To think, Steve had done it, successfully wiped the planet of its most lethal threat; the thought made her lips curve up slightly. Abandoned by his father’s closest friend, almost poetic she thought; the only thing she would have wished for was to be there, to watch as the anguish over took him. He would be forgotten like he rightfully deserved; abandoned, part of a lost history; she just wished she was able to make that time come sooner, but she had done enough, she had destroyed a monster, they would all see soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for delayed release, have been busy with writing requests; while also not having access to the computer this story is written on for the last few days. Next chapter will most likely be out in two weeks or so; mostly being dependent on how far I manage to get with the next few chapters.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	6. Lesser Minds

“Doctor Pym… L—Like who would’ve thought that once again, in your hour of need tha—that you would turn to us, you know.” Luis said, placing two coffee mugs in-front of Hope and Hank before manoeuvring himself to sit in the chair behind his desk.

“Not me.” Hank said despondently.

“Help yourselves.” Kurt said a few moments later, placing a box of shop-bought pastry’s next to the Coffee mugs.

“What’s up with the fancy pastry… We got to keep the food budget down.”

“Well what are we supposed to have for breakfast?” Dave asked.

“The oatmeal packets.” Luis replied, in an almost matter of fact manor.

“Oatmeal packets.” The disbelief clear as day in Dave’s words.

“Is insult.”

“Why is it an insult?”

“Because it tastes like sand.”  Kurt said; Hank turned to look at Hope incredulity; Hope a few moments later reciprocating the action, however directed towards Luis. 

“You know why, It’s cau—their organic, that’s why—“

“No it’s not organic, it’s sand—“

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Dave said; a few moments later Scott lowered his head tiredly, his colleagues even managing to wear him out.

“You know what you can get creative with it—“

“—It break teeth.”

“—Put a little brown sugar on it, put some cinnamon, a little honey, wha—“ Scott raised his hands in an almost surrendering manner, beginning to say.

“Guys, guys, _guys, guys, guys,_ guys… Come on man, we got bigger fish to fry… Is that my desk?” He said, beginning to approach the poorly sized item.

“Yeah.”

“… _What_ … Why do I have such a small desk?” Scott said, turning to look at Luis.

“Well, cause you weren’t there when we were choosing desks.” He replied in a bland tone.

“You snooze you lose.”

“Well I was under house arrest.”

“Yeah.” Hank turned to look at Hope, his facial features matching the previous incredulity state he was in; a few moments later Hope turned to smile tightly at her father.

“—You know what this isn’t even a desk, this is garbage, you found this outside amongst _garbage_.”

“I got it at a rummage sale.” Luis replied, a slight proudness seeping into his words.

“So you saved money on my desk—“

“Guys—“

“—Hope _please_ , we need to focus, we got to find that lab already.” Hope raised her eyebrows disbelievingly at him; Scott tilting his head for a brief moment in a _you know_ manor.

“You know what, I heard stories, like what happened to you; like this crazy creepy _cat_ that walks-through walls and stuff, like a –like a ghost.”

“Like _Baba Yager_ … Baba Yager, the _witch_ ; they tell stories to children to frighten them… _you know_   _Baba Yager?_ ” Kurt said, causing the room’s occupants to look at him questioningly for a brief moment.

“Whoever stole it, we need to find it.”

“You don’t find someone like that… _they find you_.” Hope turned to look at Dave, her eyebrows rising in an almost banality way.

“ _Like Baba Yager_.”

“…Doctor Pym, you’re like the smartest genius I know; didn’t you put some kind of low-jack on your lab… Because if you didn’t we have a variety of affordable options.” Hank lowered his head tiredly before saying.

“Of course I did _Luis_ , it was disabled; whoever stole the lab new exactly what they were doing.” The defeat in his words clear as day.

“They also looked like they were phasing.”

“Phasing?” Scott asked, a few moments later Hank turned to look at him.

“Quantum phasing, when an object moves through different states of matter.”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.” Hank shook his head from side to side briefly in a similar manor to his lowered head moments earlier.

“The lab emits radiation; could we modify a quantum spectrometer and track it?” Hope asked, turning to look at her father as his facial features morphed into that of contemplation.

“That could work yes, but all my equipment is in the lab.”

“Well, where else can we find that equipment?” Scott asked.

“…Well there is one person… Bill Foster—“

“Great… Who’s Bill Foster?” Hope sighed tiredly before moving to look at her father expectantly.

“…He’s an old college of my dad’s from _SHIELD_ … They had a falling out years ago.”

“You seem to have a lot of falling outs with people.” Luis uttered quietly.

“It’s probably just a waste of time…”

“Hey, I got dressed for this; don’t you think we should check?” Hank turned to look at Scott disbelievingly; a few moments later Hope lean't towards her father, saying.

“We need to find-out who took the lab.” Hank turned to look at his daughter, the slight pleading glint in her eyes coursing the older man to sigh; hopefully it wouldn’t all be for nothing.

 

+++

 

Rhodes sighed tiredly before weakly pulling himself into the wheelchair that rested next to the bed. He hadn’t seen Pepper since the previous night; the ever diligent CEO always seemed to wake up before him, quickly doing her morning routine and then leaving for the SI offices. He knew that she was dealing with Tony’s disappearance in her own way; he just sometimes wished she would confide in him instead of working around the clock. He ground his teeth agitatedly as he struggled to pull the large clothes closet open; a few moments later sighing triumphantly as he began flicking through the various clothes.

Vision had his back to the Colonel as he quietly wheeled himself into the Tower’s communal floor, the android appeared to be cooking. A few moments later he had pulled up to the large fridge-freezer, weakly pulling one of the large steel doors open before taking a half-full carton of juice from the shelf. Vision turned to smile briefly at the man as he wheeled past; a few minutes later Rhodes had wheeled himself over to the coffee table, placing a glass and the retrieved carton onto its surface. He sighed tiredly to himself as he poured a percentage of the cartons contents into the glass, beginning to take small gulps of the liquid moments later. As he placed the now empty glass down he heard Vision quietly float over to him, the Android softly placed the prepared plateful of breakfast food in-front of him. Rhodes smiled thankfully at him before turning his attention to the warm food before him; a few moments later beginning to take small fork falls of it.

As Rhodes placed the used knife and fork on the now empty plate he watched Vision sit on the settee next to him; the android placed a large box full of files on the floor next to the coffee table, a few moments later pulling the lid off and beginning to take a small amount of files out of it. Rhodes took the used glass and plate and placed them in his lap, turning around and slowly wheeling himself towards the kitchen. As he placed the used items next to the sink, he caught sight of Vision floating over to the fridge; the android placing the used carton of juice onto one of the fridges free shelf's moments later.

It was a few minutes before they had both begun filing through the various files, attempting to find any information or data which may help lead them to Tony’s whereabouts. This was a common routine for the pare, as they had spent the last few months going through the large variety of physical data. They were both aware of FRIDAY’S attempts of finding him, as the AI had become uncharacteristically quiet; choosing to only speak when she had no other way of conveying her responses. As the months had passed the towers occupants had become more and more fearful, all of them hoping beyond hope they would find him alive; but even now, with the ever rising anguish threatening to consume them, they didn’t lose hope.

 

+++

 

“отчет.” [Report.] The doctor said, beginning to file through the various papers currently attached to the clipboard.

“Там были Ван Дине и Ланг вместе с Пим.” [Van Dyne and Lang were there, along with Pym.] The Doctor nodded distractedly in acknowledgement to her words.

“Почему ты их не нейтрализовал?” [Why didn’t you neutralise them?] Ava watched as the male pulled a biro out of his lab-coats top pocket; lowering it to the peace of paper expectantly.

“Они пометили меня, если бы я рискнул сразиться с ними, возможно, не смог это сделать.” [They tag-teamed me, if I had risked fighting them I may have not made it out.] He nodded at her words before beginning to scribble her response onto the blank sheet of paper; a few minutes later saying.

“Он захочет увидеть вас; вы знаете наказание за неудачу.” [He will want to see you; you know the punishment for failure.] Ava nodded blandly, fear beginning to slowly bubble within her; she had what she needed, all she could hope for was that Van Dyne and Lang would create enough of a distraction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately I have no idea when the next chapter will be posted, as I have made no further progress past the 7th chapter. I would imagine early next month so that I have adequate time to write further parts for this story, I apologise for this deeply; there is a low chance I will end up posting a chapter towards the halfway point of this month but I cant make any promises.
> 
> For those wondering about the "I was under house arrest." Scott had returned to the states before the accords were reprieved, making a deal with the council before their dispersion; Clint taking a similar kind of deal. Almost a year and a half after his return however was when the Accords were fully scraped, the 'Avengers' returning a month or so after it became public knowledge; one of the reasons why I didn't have Hank, Scott and Hope decide to regroup at one of their houses. Hope and Hank's home is still miniaturised however, the both of them not finding a reason or real need to resize the building after they began work on the tunnel.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	7. Entangled Thoughts

“It’s incredible… your link to Janet… its quantum entanglement between the quantum states of pozer molecules and your brains.” Bill said, his words buzzing with an almost elated amount of joy.

“ _Yeah_ that’s what I was thinking.” Scott replied blandly, Hope turning to look at him questioningly as her brows furrowed together.

“…Do you guys just put the word quantum in-front of everything—”

“Doctor, we need to find our lab.” Hope said, turning her attention back to the professor.

“Hope I’d love to help you but I don’t have anything like the equipment you’re describing—“

“I told you this is a waste of time, come on lets go.” The older Pym said tiredly, gesturing lightly with his head towards the room’s door.

“Don’t condescend Hank, you’re the one that’s been on the run from the FBI; all because you had to grow to a size that _finally_ fit your ego.” Bill lean't into the back of his chair, his judgemental gaze landing on his old colleague.

“That wasn’t me in Germany, it was this idiot.” Hank nodded towards Scott; Bill’s eyebrows rising slightly as he lean't forward, his forearms coming to rest on-top of the desk.

“ _Really_ … going that big it must have been exhausting.”

“I slept for three days straight, you have no idea.” Scott said exasperatedly, coursing Hope to roll her eyes lightly at him.

“Actually I do, back in the day I was Hank’s partner on a project called Goliath—“

“Excuse me, you were my _partner_?” Bill lean't into the back of his chair once more, his gaze turning to look at Hank; a few moments later saying.

“The only thing more tiring than going that big, was putting up with Hanks bullshit.”

“Righ—“ Scott snickered lightly before meeting Hope’s judgemental stare, coursing him to quickly morph his facial features into a cool professionalism; she watched as Scott lean't forward, resting his forearms on his knees before saying.

“…How big did you get?” Hope sighed tiredly as she lightly shook her head, realising that they were going to be here for longer than she would have liked.

“My record… twenty one feet.”

“Not bad.” Scott said smugly, leaning into the back of the chair as his the corners of his lips began to curve up.

“You?” He made a dismissive gesture at hearing Bill’s words, the light smirk turning into an almost pompous smile.

“No really I’m curious.” The younger man turned his gaze back to the professor fully, eventually saying.

“…Sixty five feet.” Bill made a sound of praise, before quietly uttering.

“ _Huge_ —”

“Sixty five—“

“If you two are finished comparing sizes... we need to figure out a way to track-down _the lab_.” Hope finally said, her gaze turning from Bill to Scott as she attempted to stress the importance of locating it within a short time frame.

“And the great Hank Pym hasn’t figured that one out yet, strange.” She sighed tiredly before leaning into the back of her chair; closing her eyes in an attempt to sooth her irritation.

“…You had all the answers back in the day; that’s why I left the project.”

“ _Left_ … I fired you.” Hank said, an air of disbelief clearly surrounding his words.

“Best decision I ever made, Hank was a terrible partner, _temperamental_ , stubborn and impatient, sooner or later he just pushed everyone away.”

“Just mediocrity’s—“

“Janet was the only one who could endure him and chose to stick it out.”

“Watch it Bill.” The older Pym said, his words clipped and filled with animosity.

“She payed the price… didn’t she.”

“Son of a—“ Hope and Scott leapt to their feet to restrain him as he quickly begun striding towards Bill’s desk, Hope finally snapping and irritatedly saying.

“We didn’t come here to listen to you two squabble; I’m trying to save my _mother_.” She said, Hank pulling himself out of her and Scott’s hold and beginning to mutely glare at his ex-colleague.

“I wo— _Knock, Knock, Knock_.” Their gazes jumped to the offices main door for a few moments, before finally averting to stare at Bill expectantly; he sighed tiredly, eventually saying.

“…Come in.” The offices door quietly opened, revealing a college student who had a rather large amount of books held within her grasp.

“Prof—“ She stopped mid-sentence as her gaze landed on the rooms other occupants; her eyes widening as she recognised one of them in particular.

“Can I help you Miss Lieber?” The female student blinked a few times in an almost dazed state before turning to look at Bill fully.

“You asked me to come to your office after class.” Bill began muttering quietly to himself as the conversation he had, had with her became more vivid by the second.

“ _Right_ … would you be ab—“

“Your Scott Lang right?” She asked, coursing Hope to sigh quietly as she watched Scott’s eyes light up; his lips lightly curving up into a smile also.

“Why yes I a—“

“Sorry, but we were just leaving… _come on_.” Hope said exasperatedly, the realisation that they weren’t going to get anywhere finally hitting her, that and she didn’t particularly want to see this student fan-girl over Scott; she grasped her father and a rather distracted Scott by the shoulder, beginning to lightly push them out of the room.

“ _Wait_ … you might be able to improvise the tracker… if you modify one of the defraction units on one of your regulators.” Hope turned to look at the professor, a grateful smile beginning to tug at the corners of her lips for the first time since hearing Scott’s voicemail.

“That could work… _Thank you, Thank you_.” With one last gentle push they all exited the small office.

“So I’m a terrible partner?” Hank asked disbelievingly once they had reached the van.

“Foster, he has that _one_ good idea in his unremarkable carrier—“

“But his idea about the defractors could work.” Hope said, turning to look at her father pointedly.

“Fine, _one_ decent idea… except I eliminated defractors when I upgraded the suits.” Scott’s gaze flicked between the vans front windshield and rear-view mirror for a few moments before he hesitantly said.

“So if we had an old suit, _we_ might be able to track down the lab?” Hanks gaze flicked to meet Scott’s in the mirror for a second before refocusing back on the road, saying in unison.

“Yes but we don’t.”

“…What if we did?” Hope turned to look back at Scott, her brows stitching together questioningly.

“What do you mean?” Scott scrunched his facial features up for a brief moment; in a way that clearly displayed his attempts of thinking how to reply.

“I mean… _life’s funny_ —” Before he was able to continue Hope’s eyes widened as she cottoned on to what he was implying.

“Oh my god… you didn’t destroy the suit.”

“ _What_?” Hank half-yelled, his gaze flicking from the road-ahead and the rear-view mirror frantically.

“Wel— it was your life’s work Hank, I couldn’t destroy that… before I turned myself in I shrunk it down and mailed it to Luis.” The older Pym’s gaze flicked between the road and rear-view mirror even faster; as he incredulously said.

“ _You sent my suit through the mail_ —“

“Hey, the postal service is very reliable, you know; they do tracking numbers now, like UPS.” Hank seethed silently, his hands tightening around the steering wheel.

“Where is it?”

“It’s in a very safe place, alright, don’t worry.”

“What the trophy… no its not here.” Luis said a few minutes later.

“What do you mean it’s not there, where could it _be_?” Scott asked into the small black cell, the slight frantic edge his words took clear as day.

“I looked everywhere it’s not here.”

“I put it back after Cassie and I were… _show and tell_.” Scott breathed out, realisation beginning to flood his system.

“Scottie?” A few moments later Scott flipped the small cellular device shut, turning back to the front of the van and saying.

“Well the good news is, I know where it is.” He just hoped they were able to get the suit unseen; the last thing he wanted was to see the heartbroken expressions she would take on at the fact that he was there for the trophy; he had disappointed her enough already.

 

+++

 

Natasha stared at the ceiling wordlessly, her facial features blank; her eyes distant and emotionless. The red-room had been her life, and in a sense it always would be; she had the others sure, but even at S.H.I.E.L.D she had hid behind thick masks and high walls. She was accustomed to creating personas, identities, after all she was trained to excel in those types of areas; but none of them would stick for long, choosing to shed herself of them and move on. Yet here she was _Natasha_ an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D agent turned _Avenger_ , she would have laughed at the thought years ago; but now, now it felt like she was suffocating, a sort of check-mate she had voluntarily put herself into.

Her gaze flicked to the small digital clock that rested on the bedside cabinet, _02:23_ clearly seen glowing an almost blood red in the darkness. _You think you feel nothing_ she had lost count of her kill-count years ago _that you’re special because you were the only one of us that managed to make something of themselves_ she remembers the cries she heard as they were taken away for the ceremony. _You think that you could create a new life for yourself, not just play Natasha but become her_ she had created attachments, irreversibly linked to more than one person _but I know who you really are_.

Natalia Alianovna Romanova, the name was always there; when she closed her eyes at night, when she dreamt of her past or decisions. It chased her, something she was never able to leave behind; a persona that would forever be linked to her; but it wasn’t a persona. It wasn’t _Natasha_ or _Natalie Rushman_ it was her, underneath all the masks and walls someone was there; yet she didn’t know who they were, and that’s what scared her most.

 

+++

 

“We gave you the Terran, yet you still come here asking for more.” The dark haired woman said, her words clipped and void of any real emotion.

“I am inclined to agree… we have done enough for you and your house, yet we still haven’t received anything in return for our collective investment.” The dark haired male turned to the bald man for a moment before flicking his gaze along the small line of people.

“And you will be payed what your due in good time… but If you want your investments to be worth anything then I still require further… materials.” The group of people turned their gazes to each other a few moments later; collectively agreeing.

“If you wish to continue asking us for further investment then I am afraid we will have to strip you of your leadership.” The dark haired woman replied briskly; coursing the other members of the group to nod in agreement. He gritted his teeth together disdainfully; they thought he was pathetic, someone not worth their time; he could see it in the way they looked at him. A small smile began tugging at the corners of his lips, his already dark eyes beginning to storm over as he quietly uttered

“It doesn’t matter… I can still finish what I started.” The small group of people stayed stoic as they watched the dark haired male disappear into the shadows; not realising what they had ignited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid I can't say when the next chapter will be released; I would imagine mid-October, but as I have made near-to-no progress on the eighth chapter I doubt that will end up being the scheduled release window.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	8. Strange Locations & Failed Extractions

“Why aren’t we doing this the normal way again?” A shrunken Hope asked, turning to look at Scott who was riding a similarly sized Ant.

“Because I didn’t want Cassie to think I’m not letting her show the trophy at show and tell… that and the schools principle scares me.” Hope rolled her eyes lightly at him before turning her attention back to the rather large corridor.

“…Whenever you go back to school isn’t everything supposed to look so much smaller, this place seems huge—“ Scott began; only to be interrupted by the suits regulator resizing him to that of a small child.

 _“What is it_?” Hank asked, his voice crackling through their helmets built in earpieces; Hope sighed lightly before coming to hover in-front of her currently dis-proportioned teammate, saying.

“It’s the new regulator.”

“ _Hank_ what’s going on with this suit, how much of a work in-progress is this.” He said bewilderedly, beginning to franticly press the switch located on his index finger; the _break-time_ bell ringing mere moments later. Scott’s eyes widened as he let-out a nervous sound filled with trepidation.

“No, no, no, _no_ , _no_ , _no_.” He said, the panic clear as day in his words; once he finally realized that the switch that controlled the regulator wasn’t going to resize him, he began hastily circling his gaze around the corridor, his line of sight finally landing on a cleaners closet; a few moments later the both of them entering it.

“ _…Come on.”_ Scott said after pressing the regulators switch a dozen more times; with a large crashing sound he suddenly grew to a size of around 15 feet. Hope peeped in surprise before shortly beginning to laugh lightly to herself.

“What are you laughing, com— please, could you jus—“

 _“Ok.”_ She said in-between laughs, growing to the size of an average person and clambering over to pop the front of the regulators housing open.

“ _What do you see_?”

“The sizing coils are malfunctioning… _just let me_ —“ Hope said to her father; Scott yelping out in pain as she fiddled with the clearly overheated coils.

“ _Sorry_.” The younger Pym said, leaning back slightly to look up at Scott’s pinched facial features.

“ _It’s alright.”_ With one last click Hope flicked the regulators front housing back over the main device; a few moments later rebooting said regulator.

“ _Alright_ …  try tha—“ She was cut-off by Scott resizing himself; in-turn coming face to face with a flustered looking Hope.

“Sorry yo—“ The brief moment being broken only seconds later; yet again the sizing coils malfunctioned.

“ _Wha—_ awesome.” He said blandly, having already tried the regulators control switch a dozen more times.

“…If only Cap could see you now.” Hope said smugly, leaning down to reach the (now) males lower eye-level.

“Hilarious… _what are we going to do_?” Scott watched as Hope’s gaze moved to a lost and found box, specifically landing on what appeared to be a large blue hoodie. The younger Pym came to hover quietly next to Scott as he cautiously peered around the cleaners closet now open door; once (dreadfully) making sure the cost was clear fully exiting said closet.

“ _…Hey_ … where’s your hall-pass… _hey_ I’m talking to you.” Before the man could utter another word Scott began running as fast his shrunken legs would let him, moments later turning a corner and heading in the direction of Cassie’s classroom. As they cautiously entered the class-room Scott made a bee-line for the shelf in-which Cassie’s bag was located on; beginning to helplessly try and pull the bag down from its surprisingly high height.

“ _You can do it… you almost got it.”_ As Hope ceased her playful teasing she resized and pulled the desired item down and handed it to Scott; who began rifling through the bags various compartments. Sighing triumphantly as he pulled the small golden trophy out of the bag; a fond smile beginning to tug at the corners of his lips as he ran his finger along the engraved _world’s best grandma_ placard.

“ _Oh peanut.”_ Eventually snapping out of his fond filled trance he manoeuvred the trophy so that he could pull the bottom off-of it; revealing what appeared to be a shrunken suit attached to a sliver of sellotape. As he detached the piece of plastic, he removed the suit with his other hand; passing it to a patiently waiting Hope before reattaching the Trophy’s bottom and placing it back inside Cassie’s bag. A Few moments later Hope placed Cassie’s bag back onto the shelf it was previously stored on, before the both of them began making their way out of the school.

Hope watched bemusedly as Scott clambered down the school’s main stair-case; stumbling off-of the last few steps and almost falling through the Van’s open side-door. As Scott re-positioned himself on the (rather large) car-seat; Hank turned so that he could see the younger male completely.

“Hiya champ how was school today?” The older Pym said bemusedly; Scott letting out a sarcastic string of laughter at hearing the older man’s words, before saying

“—alright get your jokes out now; can you fix the suit?”

“So cranky.” Hope said, the corners of her lips twitching up into a small smirk.

“Do you want a juice-box and some string cheese?” Hope let out a brief bout of laughter at her father’s words; a few moments later Scott (some-what) seriously saying.

“Do you really have that?” Once they finally reached a more discreet/less populated area; they began setting up the old regulator so that it could track the minute amount of radiation the lab was out-putting. A few minutes later they all watched as the regulator began the short boot and search process; the thick trepidation which filled the air made the short process feel more like it took minutes, than mere seconds. With a consecutive line of _Beeps_ their gazes jumped to the computer screen which displayed a location of where it had detected radiation matching the labs out-put levels.

“This has got to be the lab.” Hank said, his words holding the same Hope he had seen in his daughter’s eyes after leaving Bill’s office.

“…Let’s go get it.” The younger Pym said finally; moving to program the displayed coordinates into her phone.

_SCOUT LAKE – ONTARIO LIGHTHOUSE_

She huffed out an annoyed breath at seeing the estimated arrival time; all she could do was Hope that they managed to get there before the lab was completely ransacked.

 

+++

 

“-Но сэр, он не готов” [–But sir, he’s not ready] The Doctor said pleadingly.

“Он отлично справлялся со своим последним заданием, почему он не готов к этому?” [He functioned fine on his last assignment, why isn’t he prepared for this one?] The dark haired male replied; continuing his rather brisk pace down the hallway.

“У нас заканчивается время; если мы его не отправим, это будет конец для всех нас-“ [We are running out of time; if we don’t send him out now it will be the end for all of us—] His words were cut-off by a tremendous shudder running through the entire corridor; coursing the hallway’s emergency lights to flick on and the alpha alert siren to begin blaring.

“…Приготовьте его заранее и готовы к транзиту; Мне все равно, если он не полностью функциональен, нам нужно вытащить его отсюда.” […Get him prepped and ready for transit; I don’t care if he isn’t completely functional we need to get him out of here.] The dark haired male said assertively, the only reply he got being a frantic head-nod from the rather jittery looking Doctor. As the dark haired male began heading in the direction of where the presumed explosion had originated from the Doctor frantically began making his way towards the room in-which the asset was located in. A few minutes later he entered the pristine looking containment room, hurriedly making his way over to the bed which the male was located in; mere seconds later the Man’s eyes snapped open, his electric blue pupils coming to stare up at the Doctor.

“Положение дел.” [Status.]

“Готов к выполнению.” [Ready to comply.] The Doctor nodded his head in response to the assets words; moving back slightly as he watched the blue-eyed male manoeuvre himself into a standing position.

“Предупреждение альфа-уровня, протокол Evac по активам 3691.” [Alpha level alert, asset Evac protocol 3691.] The Doctor watched as the taller males eyes shone a bright blue, before eventually lowering to their normal (blue tinged) hue a few moments later.

_-ALPHA CODE ACCEPTED-_

_-SYSTEM STABILITY SUFFICIENT FOR HARMONIC TRAVEL-_

_-PERSONNEL EXTRACTION RECOMMENDED-_

“Мы должны уйти сейчас; интеграция корабля скомпрометирована.” [We must leave now; the ship integrity is compromised.] The Doctor nodded in agreement to the assets words; a few moments later following the male out of the containment room and down the corridor towards the closest transportation deck. As another resounding shudder ran through the ship’s hull, it coursed the Doctor to lose his footing; sending him headfirst into the floor. He groaned painfully as he hurried to right himself, only for one of the corridors supporting beams to break off and tumble down onto the Doctor. He let out a shrill scream of agony as the burning hot metal seared through his clothes and onto his skin; the Doctor turned his head to where the asset was located, his tear-filled vision coursing him to only see the out-line of the taller male.

“Помогите мне ... _Помогите мне_.” [Help me… _Help me_.]  He pleaded desperately, watching as the other male stayed stoic; his eyes blank and emotionless as he watched the Doctor slowly slip further and further into an agony filled hell.

 

_-SHIP INTEGRITY AT 23%-_

_-EVAC RECOMMENDED-_

The Doctor watched as the taller male turned and continued his path along the rapidly disintegrating corridor; the last thing the blue-eyed man heard, being an ear-splitting scream of pain.

 

+++

 

With a slight residual vibration the dark haired male appeared within the bunkers control room; almost toppling over from the force in-which he was transported at. He circled his gaze around the medium sized room expectantly, moments later two (short of breath) brawny men appearing. As the males own lack of air began to slowly cease, he assertively said.

“Ищите базу, я хочу, чтобы его нашли и привели ко мне.” [Search the base, I want him found and brought to me.] The two men nodded before hastily making their way out of the room; beginning to make their way down the various levels held within the bunker. The dark haired male eventually made his way over to the main control console, beginning to turn on the various displays located above said console; each screen lighting up with various camera feeds and analytical data. It was an hour or so before the two men finally returned, entering the control room with stoic expressions as they halted their movements within the rooms main entrance-way.

“Есть ли другой актив?” [Is the other asset present?] The dark haired male asked distractedly, his sole focus still remaining on the control console and its surrounding displays.

“Да.” [Yes.]

“Приведи ее ко мне; мы будем нуждаться в ней для их прибытия.” [Bring her to me; we will need her for their arrival.] The two men made their way out of the room almost instantaneously at hearing the dark haired male’s words. With one last _Click_ the dark haired individual stepped back from the control console, a dry smile beginning to tug at the corners of his lips as his gaze scanned along the various displays; they would all see what he was capable of, he would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid it will most likely be a while before the next chapter, as October is most likely going to be a hectic month. I will (hopefully) end-up being able to commit to a proper release schedule, as I currently release chapters whenever they are complete or I feel it is an adequate time to release them; and I will most likely cease with giving wildly inaccurate chapter release date windows.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!


	9. Red Blackouts

“Are you sure this is the place?” Scott asked questioningly, his gaze focused on the building currently located in-front of the van.

“I know they were trying to go for hidden in plain sight and all that, but a lighthouse?” Hope rolled her eyes lightly at Scott’s bewilderment; a few minutes later placing the vehicle in-park and making her way into the back of the van to begin putting on her gear.

“…Look at us, teaming up twice in one day.” Scott said a few minutes later; doing last minute checks over the suit.

“Makes you think.” Hope said, her lips twitching up slightly; forgetting the sensation of what it was like to work with someone like Scott.

“About what?”

“Germany.” The younger Pym said drily, briefly focusing her gaze on Scott before averting it to the blaster located on her wrist as she fiddled with its power output.

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, the suspicious feeling which threatened to envelope him clearly heard in his words.

“We were working together _and_ … other stuffing together…”

“If I’d asked you, would you have come?” A slight hopeful glint sparkling in his eyes, earning a light smirk from Hope; before she said.

“I guess we’ll never know, but I do know one thing—“

“What?”

“If I had, you’d have never been caught.” She maintained eye-contact with him for a few more moments before shrinking herself down and making her way out of the Van; leaving a rather wistful looking Scott to stare at the Van’s floor.

“Hey Scott… do you think you could stop day-dreaming about my daughter long enough to get my lab?” Hank asked, snapping Scott out of his longing filled state.

“Yes sir.”

“Thank you.” Finally shrinking himself down Scott also began making his way out of the van, following the path Hope had taken towards the lighthouse.

“ _Ok you’re transmitting_.” Hank said, his voice crackling through their helmets built-in ear-pieces.

“What took you so long?”  The younger Pym asked as Scott finally caught up with her; the both of them entering the building adjacent to the lighthouse in near unison.

“Sorry had to come up with a name for my ant; thinking _Ulysses_  S Gr- _Ant_ … do you like it?”

“Hilarious.” Hope said blandly, focusing her attention on the out-put readings her suits scanners were displaying within her helmets visor.

“ _I’m not getting anything on the monitors, there’s some kind of electronic disturbance… be careful.”_

“You know me Hank I’m always careful.” Hope rolled her eyes lightly at the younger males reply before focusing her gaze on what appeared to be a blank wall; however her scanners readings were displaying a high-concentration of steel located within said wall.

“Scott, I think I found something.” She said into her comms-unit, a few moments later resizing herself and making her way over to the wall. As she ran her gaze along the walls circumference, she finally came to a stop at a point which (her heads-up display) was pin-pointing as the origin of an electrical current.

“…Hope what are you—“ As Scott eventually resized himself, he watched Hope place her fist against the wall and fire one of her blasters at it; the action causing the entire building to shudder violently for a brief moment. As his gaze finally made its way back to the wall (from nervously watching the rafters shake), to his surprise, the wall itself had split; the two segments slowly separating themselves from one another.

“Why couldn’t I have blasters again?” Hope rolled her eyes lightly at his comment before making her way into the (now exposed) elevator, Scott a few moments later following suit; the younger Pym eventually pushing the down button within the elevators control panel. A minute or so later, there was a high-pitched static sounding noise which burst through both of their helmet’s comms-units before everything (apart from the wiring sound of the elevator) became silent.

“Dad… _Dad?_ ” Hope asked, huffing out an annoyed breath at the realisation that the depth they had reached was inadequate for their comms system; mere moments later turning to Scott and saying.

“Great our comms are down.”

“So… what now—“ The younger males words were cut-off by the elevators doors sliding open; the last thing the both of them remembered being a blurred outline before everything became black.

 

+++

 

“Where did they take him?” The woman asked steely, her previous actions and harsh tone coursing the male to shake in terror.

“I – I don’t know, they never t - told me about their e – experiments.” She tilted her head to the side slightly, regarding the male with a rather blank calculative look; as she approached the restrained individual, she watched him flinch slightly as she lean't down to his eye level.

“I would say you were lying if it wasn’t for the clear fear I can see in your eyes.” The man kept his gaze down, fearing what may happen if he risked glancing at the woman; she stared at the male expectantly for a minute or so before huffing out an annoyed breath and moving to stand upright completely.

“I thought he would’ve had more taste than settling for recruiting people like you.” She watched him for a few more moments, hoping that her words may provoke a reaction; but no such thing came, the individual choosing to keep his head lowered. The woman watched the restrained male for a few more minutes, her brows furrowing together as she noticed his cheekbones seemed to widen/become torte slightly, the action coursing her to frown in annoyance. In one fluid movement she had grabbed the male by the throat and lifted him off-of the ground, at the woman’s actions the individual brought his gaze up to meet hers, a sickeningly wide smile beginning to claim his lips. Her gloved hand tightened around his throat at seeing the person’s pompous almost indulgent smile.

“I know where they took him, but I’ll never say a word to _you_.” She ground her teeth in disdain silently; already well aware of the fact she was going to get nothing out of him, having dealt with individuals similar to him in the past

“Oh don’t worry; I’m fully aware of that.” As the words passed through her tight lipped slim smile she slammed the male into the ground, the force strong enough to break any normal human’s back; yet the only indication she got that the man had felt anything was his ever widening smile.

 

+++

 

Steve sighed tiredly as he made his way into the communal lounge, his gaze briefly flicking from a pensive looking Natasha to a reflective looking Sam and Bucky; finally landing on a lightly smiling Wanda. He smiled back at her grimly before making his way over to the small kitchenette, filling a glass with water before turning to lean his back against the kitchen-top next to the sink. He knew something had to change, they had to _do_ something; if not then who would be there to protect the world against hostile threats. He wasn’t sure how long Miss Potts would carry on with her little vendetta, only that (quite frankly) he was becoming tired of it; he had tried getting in touch with T’Challa countless times, so much so that he was barred from the stateside outreach centre’s he had setup. Steve downed the last amount of water left in the glass before bringing his gaze down to trace the patterns which littered the bottom of the glass.

“Steve?” His gaze jumped to the timid sounding voice, a warm smile claiming his lips at the sight of the youngSokovian.

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah… don’t worry everything’s fine.” He said, Wanda only smiled at him before eventually moving to sit on one of the various stalls which surrounded the kitchen island. Steve sighed tiredly; _Wanda didn’t deserve to live like this, she’s just a kid; those damn Accords had—_ he was brought out of his thoughts by the apartment’s lights flickering on and off. His gaze circled around the room briefly, noting that only he and Wanda appeared to be noticing the lights; it wasn’t until they flickered on and off for the third time that the rooms other occupants were snapped out of their thought filled trances. With a resounding _Click_ all of the lights blacked out completely, bathing the room in darkness fully; Steve huffed out an annoyed breath as he placed the now empty glass down on the counter-top next to him, eventually saying.

“…It’s probably just the buildings breaker, I’m sure they will have it fixed in a few minutes.” There was a collective hum of agreement before Sam said.

“…Does anyone have a torch?” As the words left the Sergeant’s mouth the room was illuminated in an almost blood red colour; Wanda having released various tendrils of her magic to various parts of the room. Steve smiled gratefully at her before lowering his head a few moments later; already beginning to lose himself in his thoughts once more. He couldn’t remember when the next person spoke only that it was what they pointed out that he still couldn’t forget.

“Guys… Is it just me or can someone see a figure in that corner?” Sam asked apprehensively, his line of sight directed towards the far corner of the room. All of their gazes moved to where the Sergeant’s gaze was currently located; they starred into the shadow filled corner for a few moments, Steve eventually saying.

“Wanda… do you think you could—“ Before the Captain could say anything further Wanda had already fired one of her tendrils into darkness; yet the corner still stayed coated in darkness. The Sokovian’s brows furrowed together in confusion, coursing her to fire another tendril into the dark alcove; it wasn’t until her fourth attempt, that they saw any result. They all watched as a pair of electric blue irises stared out at them; flicking from one person to the other. Steve wasn’t sure when they had all taken up a defensive stance, only that when the person or _thing_ lunged forward they were all-ready grouped together and waiting; prepared to take-on whatever their assailant maybe _together_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would imagine the next chapter will be out by the end of next week, as I currently have the next two written and ready for release, however I can't guarantee anything sadly.
> 
> Thank you to anyone who took part in the poll!
> 
> I hoped you enjoyed reading!


	10. A Photo Plucked With Memories

“Wanda” Steve cried out desperately, scrambling up into a standing position; his gaze darting to the young Sokovian; his heart pumping at twice its normal rate as the adrenaline raced through his system. He hurriedly began making his way towards the (currently) pinned woman, his gaze flicking to the man or _thing_ which had her restrained; it wasn’t until the other individuals gaze flicked to look at him that he got his first look at who their assailant was.

Blindingly blue eyes stared at him blandly, the clean cut and sharp cornered helmet or _head_ of whoever their intruder was shared an eerily similar design to that of the Iron Man armour. Steve’s movements faltered as the resemblance began to sink in, his eyes widening as a sickening dread began to envelope him. As the Captain starred at the assailant, his mind whirling and racing; he was too preoccupied to notice the other males raised arm, the next thing he knew, he was flying back into the apartment’s wall behind him, groaning painfully as he collapsed to the floor.

As he finally pulled himself back-up into a standing position, the red light the room had previously been bathed in dissipated, leaving the apartment in complete darkness. As his eyes struggled to adjust to the lack of light, the apartments lights flickered back to life; his eyes darted to where Wanda had previously been, the only thing left there being shards of glass from the broken coffee table.

“…Is everyone alright?” He asked a few moments later, beginning to circle his gaze around the room, quickly assessing how badly his teammates were injured. There were collective groans of _alright’s_ and _I’m ok’s_ ; a few minutes later all of them moved to sit around the kitchen island, those who had received the brunt of the individuals assault tending to their wounds with the medical supplies Steve had retrieved from the apartments bathroom.

“What was that?” Sam asked, wincing as he dabbed the disinfectant coated cotton ball against the deep gash he had received on his cheek.

“…Whatever it was, it took Wanda.” Natasha said, nursing the skin on her left shoulder where it had made contact with the apartment’s floor at a more than crooked angle.

“…He knew we would’ve be unprepared for an attack… they’ve probably been watching us for weeks.” Bucky said, passing an adhesive bandage to Sam, the man nodding in thanks.

“…Steve?” Natasha said a few minutes later, noticing the deep thoughtful gaze the super soldier had directed at the kitchen-islands counter-top; he hummed in response to her words, before finally bringing his gaze up to meet hers.

“You ok?”

“…Yeah, _yeah_ , it’s just… did anyone else see his face?” His gaze moving along the small group of people gathered around the island, all of them almost collectively shaking their heads.

“I thought… I don— it doesn’t matter.” He said, lowering his gaze back to the kitchen-islands counter-top, shaking his head dismissively in unison; the others gazes stayed locked on him as their pupils glinted and brows furrowed in question. Eventually brushing off the strange words of their teammate, the others began dispersing one-by-one, all heading in the direction of their respective rooms. Steve wasn’t sure when he refocused on his surroundings, only that when he did the others were gone, leaving him alone in the apartments eerily quiet and (now) rather dilapidated communal kitchen/lounge.

He let out a shuddering breath as he pushed the last dregs of what he had seen into the deepest depths of his brain. _You think you’re a hero, that because you were protecting your friend you have justification for your actions; let me tell you something Rogers, Tony was more of a hero than you could ever be._ Peppers words rang in his head as he made his way back to his room _The Accords had an agenda._

_So did you._

No… He was doing the right thing, they would have killed Bucky if he hadn’t gone against the Accords, the world knew that now. The thought made him relax slightly, _Not a perfect soldier, but a good man_ he had done what he thought was right, and that’s all he could do; there was always going to be consequences for his actions, and he knew that. _Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say no, you move._ He would fight for what was right and what was right was protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves, even if that meant taking away their choice to _choose_.

 

+++

 

“Peter you’re going to be late for school.” May shouted, her voice travelling through the apartments thin walls with ease.

“… _Yeah_ I’m just coming.” Peter sighed lightly to himself, his thumb gently running along the breadth of the image displayed on his phone; it was one he had taken with Mr. Stark before his trip to Germany; how he wished he could’ve helped more, if he had then maybe Mr. Stark would still be here.

_‘M-Mr. Stark do you think I c-could… I could maybe take… do you thi—‘_

_‘Come on kid spit it out, I don’t bite I promise.’_ Peter bored a hole into the carpeted floor of his bedroom, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink as his embarrassment seeped out of him in waves.

_‘I… I was wondering if I could maybe t-take a photo with you, I know it’s stupid, its fine if you say no I won’t be offended or any—‘_

_‘Kid, calm down alright, its fine trust me.’_ Peter’s gaze jumped up to meet Mr. Stark’s, the speed in-which he did so earning a light chuckle from the male; coursing his cheeks to burn-up even further.

 _‘…I don’t want to see that on your Myspace page tomorrow or anything.’_ He said a few moments later, giving the adolescent a pointed look.

 _‘O-Of course Mr. Stark.’_ Tony smiled lightly at him before bringing his hand up to ruffle the boy’s hair.

 _‘I’m only joking with you kid.’_ Peter lowered his head, his expression bordering on bashful at the warmth spreading through him from Mr. Stark’s hand being in his hair.

 _‘I-I knew that.’_ Mr. Stark laughed lightly at him before slinging an arm around the boy’s shoulders, beginning to direct him out of his room and back into the apartment’s lounge/kitchen area.

_‘Come on kid, we don’t want to keep your aunt wai—‘_

“ _Peter_.” May’s stern voice snapped him out of his fond filled trance, with one last sigh he clicked his phone shut and pushed it into his pocket, a few moments later moving to grab his bag before shouting.

“Coming.” Hopefully he would be able to push away the thoughts of wishing he could’ve done more, yet he doubted it highly _what did May call it… oh right, his golden heart._

 

+++

 

Scott groaned painfully as his eyes began to slowly flutter open, his brows furrowing together (in confusion) for a moment as he felt his hands tied behind his back. As he briefly tried to pull his hands free of their bonds he circled his gaze around the dark room, his line of sight landing on Hope and Hank who were currently situated next to him, restrained in a similar.

“Hope, _Hope, Hope_ … Hank… guys—“

“I wouldn’t do that if I was you.” The younger males gaze jumped to the vast darkness in-front of him, attempting to pinpoint where the voice had come from.

“Who are you… what do you want with us?” He heard the other male chuckle slightly, the sound hollow and mocking.

“Everything shall be revealed in due time, but right now, right now I need what’s inside your head.” In quick succession Scott felt a sharp splintering pain jolt through the back of his head, the sensation flowing into his brain like a tidal wave. He ground his teeth together in an attempt to suppress the agony filled scream which threatened to rip itself out of his throat, his eyes closing tightly as the pain advanced even further.

_I’m going to find you Jellybean._

No, no, _no, no, no_.

_I did, I destroyed it I swear._

_I can’t believe you destroyed my suit… I mean that was my life’s work—_

Scott felt sick, the memories forcefully being pulled to the forefront of his mind made his stomach churn.

_This has got to be the lab._

_…Let’s go get it._

The younger male could feel his eyes beginning to roll into the back of his head, the nausea which threatened to overcome him becoming closer and closer.

_You… hav— to follow my voice._

_Points four an— six._

_Wasteland beyond th— quantu— void._

As the last memory was ripped out of him the nausea became too much, Scott slumping forwards as he blacked out; a wry smile began to tug at the corners of the dark haired males lips, he had what he needed, and all he had to do now was turn on the tunnel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up being released quiet a bit later than I had expected which I apologies for deeply, next chapter will be late November I would imagine as I haven't found the time to write too much more for this story currently.
> 
> I hoped you enjoyed reading!


	11. Misdirected Words

FRIDAY watched solemnly as Rhodes struggled to pull himself into the wheelchair next to the bed; it had become a sort of routine for her to watch him, making sure that he didn’t injure himself or require aid. The first few months of Tony’s disappearance Pepper had been there, helping him, guiding him; but then her own grief had enveloped her, leaving her in a state of lose and anguish. She had asked countless times if he required assistance, being more than obliging to notify Vision that he needed help, yet he would diligently reply with harsh _I’m fines_ or _don’t worries_. She watched as he finally pulled himself into the wheelchair, once watching him wheel over to the wardrobe; finally redirecting her attention to the various data she had been deciphering.

The days seemed to blur together as the months and weeks had passed, FRIDAY wishing more than anything she could find him; the quiet days where even Vision seemed to be effected by Tony’s absence were the once she desperately wished for something, anything to be found that may lead to finding him. It was days like this, that she would drown herself in the various data her predecessor had collected from the SHIELD file dump.

_‘Why didn’t they contact Boss before the dump?’_

_‘They put countless agents’ lives at risk.’_

The complexity of human emotions had always confused her when she had first awoken, the aftermath of the battle with Ultron, the way the team seemed to separate themselves from Tony. Placing the blame on him, outing him as the sole reason for Ultron’s creation, yet he had taken it, dealt with the media and snide comments in a matter of weeks.

_Boss… why do you let them treat you like that?_

_…Sacrifices have to be made along the way, even if that means throwing myself under the bus for them._

_…What do you mean?_

_We need them baby girl, maybe not right now, maybe not even in a few years but a time will come where the world will need them, and if keeping people safe means sacrificing everything then so be it._

The Bunker had been the catalyst, when she truly understood what it meant to sacrifice something, how Boss had gone there to help, how he had been betrayed by the people he thought were his friends. She could still remember the dread, the anxiety, and the feeling of complete and utter loss when she had lost contact with the suit; the emotions still felt raw to her, even after all this time. It was the first time she had felt something more than just curiosity and confusion; she had felt grief, anguish, and she would never forget the rage, the animosity which had built up; how she desperately wanted to vent it, to find some sort of outlet. But she had pushed it down, redirecting her attention to finding him; but she would never forget that feeling, clinging onto a part of it constantly.

_I will destroy them mark my words._

_‘We will Miss Potts… We will.’_

 

+++

 

Hope awoke with a groan, her head lolling onto the back of the chair as she ground her teeth together in annoyance, the realisation that her legs and hands were bound flooding her system. As her eyes fluttered open she brought her gaze back down, circling it around what little she could see of the room before her line of sight eventually landed on her equally restrained father.

“ _…Dad… Dad…_ Dad.”

“He can’t hear you, you know.” The voice echoed from behind her, causing her to freeze-up slightly before manoeuvring herself into a position where her shoulders were raised high and her back was straight.

“Who are you?” A few moments later the individual appeared in-front of her, her eyes snapping to look up at the now unmasked assailant they had fought at the restaurant no little than a day or so ago.

“Who I am doesn’t matter, what matters is that your little friend over here… gave them everything that they needed.” Ava said, waving her hand in Scott’s direction dismissively.

“If we don’t manage to get your lab back before they power up the tunnel… there would be little between him and his goal.” While the younger Pym’s brows had furrowed in question Ava had dissipated, Hope a few moments later feeling her restraints begin to loosen.

“...Why should I believe any of what you’re saying to me right now?”

“You don’t have to, all you have to do is help me get your lab… and quite frankly I’m your best chance and doing that.” As the she finished cutting the bonds used to restrain Hope’s hands, she moved to begin cutting Scott’s, the younger Pym (once removing her remaining restraints)  eventually moving to untie the bonds around her father’s legs and hands.

“ _Dad._ ” Hope said quietly, the word en-laced with an encouraging and hopeful tone; she watched with somewhat relief as her father groaned aggravatedly before eventually (yet slowly) opening his eyes.

“…The hell happened.” He said a few minutes later, Hope and Scott having helped pull him to his feet once the younger male had managed to reach a somewhat cohesive state.

“…The corridors clear, we should at-least be able reach the elevator without running into anyone… I’m not sure about the floor their storing your lab on though.” She said, reappearing in the room near-silently, managing to elicit a rather startled expression from Scott and a glower from the older Pym.

“ _You._ ” Ava rolled her eyes in light exasperation before turning to look at the trio completely.

“Look, it’s a given we don’t trust each other but right now it’s in both of our best interests to get your lab, so do me a favour and put your doubts aside until then _alright_?” Scott turned to look at Hope as his gaze gleamed in such a way that indicated he would go along with whatever her decision may be; she nodded in agreement, a few moments later turning to look at her father expectantly.

“… _Dad_.” He huffed out a gruff yet annoyed sigh before reluctantly nodding his accede; Ava sighed internally before beginning to make her way towards the rooms main door, once briefly making sure the adjacent corridor was clear she gestured for the others to follow her, hoping beyond hope that they wouldn’t encounter any watchers.

 

+++

 

_They have him._

 

_Leads?_

 

_Working on it._

 

Fury let out a huff of annoyance as he read the displayed message, eventually tucking the device away after (waiting half-hour or so) not receiving any further information; it wasn’t until it was nearing a week after he had last heard anything that the device would output its characteristic delayed _Beeping_.

 

_Earth._

 

One word and five letters, yet its meaning, its implications changed everything.

 

_ETA?_

 

_Within the week._

 

_He too much?_

 

_Honestly, not sure._

 

Fury sighed aggravatedly before averting his gaze to the preoccupied individual sat across from him.

“Make the call.” Her hands stilled over the laptops keyboard, her eyes moving to meet his almost hesitantly.

“…Nick… are you sure?” His gaze moved to stare down at the device for a moment, the words swirling around his thoughts almost tauntingly; with a gruff, clipped sigh his gaze moved to meet hers once more.

“Do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be up at some-point around the end of December and will give a reason for the stories 'Explicit' rating.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed reading!
> 
>  
> 
> In remembrance of Stanley Martin Leiber, may his stories and characters live on through film and fan-works for many years to come.


	12. A Crimson Hero's Heart

“ _Scott—_ ” Hope shouted, her voice strained and tight as she made forceful contact with the corridors wall.

 “— _Run._ ” The younger males gaze swivelled to find hers, the expansive crack which ran along the breadth of her visor giving way to pleading brown eyes which dripped with defiance despite the border of pain which echoed within her words and irises.

Scott’s gaze turned to meet those of the hastily approaching assailants, their dark almost pitch black eyes seeming to suffocate him; what he could only describe as disfigured metal blades (which had elongated themselves from the masked individuals fists) shimmered and dripped a sickening red as the corridors lighting pulsed hazardously. His gaze filed over a barley standing Hope and a stony (downcast) faced Hank, with one last gaze at the silent plea in her eyes and with a heavy, lead feeling heart, his thumb pressed the regulator switch on his forefinger.

The last thought which filled his mind as he leapt onto the small alates, wasn’t only the fact that he hadn’t an idea of where to go let alone what to do, but the fact that their _allied_ assailant had dissipated mere moments into the conflict.

 

+++

 

Wanda bolted up-right as she drew in a sharp, ragged breath, her heart pounding as the fragmented memories of their intruder began to come to the forefront of her mind. She scrunched her eyes together in an attempt to not only suppress the searing pain coursing through her mind, but to (futilely) see through the darkness which was enveloping her, blinking blearily as her gaze travelled around the vast space which seemed to surround her.

 _“Did you do it?”_ A voice echoed, the words coming out in a dry accented drawl.

“…W-Who are you… what do you w-want from me?” Her voice crackled with emotion as the words floated into the darkness, feeling small and meaningless as the surrounding space seemed to swallow them instantaneously. A bout of laughter echoed around her, the sound hollow, distant, as if she was dreaming.

 _“Isn’t it obvious_ _C_ _естра_ _.”_ [Sister.] She watched attentively as a silver haired male appeared in-front of her, her stomach feeling as if it was made of lead as she hesitantly glanced up at the man before her. She felt sick, her skin becoming pale as she took in the sight of her brother; crimson liquid was trickling out of the various puncture wounds which were littering his arms, chest and abdomen, a dry almost humours smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he looked down at her.   _“What’s wrong_ _Ванда_ _?”_ [Wanda?] She stared up at him mutely, her eyes glistening with un-shed tears; she watched attentively as he moved to kneel in-front of her, the blood which flowed out of his gunshot wounds falling to the floor in small droplets. She watched as the liquid seemed to form into small pools of red, her gaze jumping to look at his face as she heard him chuckle, the sound raspy and grating.

 _“Fascinating isn’t it?”_ She watched as he brought one of his hands down, moving to rest his palm in the scarlet coloured liquid. As her eyes slowly moved back up to meet his, she saw (for what felt like the first time) the lack of emotion, the dullness which seemed to pool within his grey irises, the sight eliciting a cold shudder to run throughout her body.

She wanted to scream, weep, fight, do _something, anything_ , but as she starred into his eerily blank pupils she felt as if she was routed to the spot, his intense yet hollow gaze seeming as if it pierced straight through her. She felt sick, afraid, she wanted to look away, to close her eyes and wake-up back in the apartment with the others, but she couldn’t, it was as if something was blocking her from doing so. She watched tentatively as he raised his now crimson covered hand, the liquid staining his arm as it slowly crawled down his wrist and forearm; he placed it against his dry lips, his tongue slipping free to softly taste the fluid. A few moments later he brought his arm back down, his lips quirking up slightly in the process; he stood in one fluid movement, closing the small distance between them before outstretching his stained hand to her. She starred up at him un-movingly, her eyes flicking between his expectant facial features and palm.

 _“…Come now C_ _естра, you must finish what you started.”_ [Sister.] As she starred up into his dull cold eyes (his lips lightly curving upwards) something clicked; her eyes darkened as they began to slowly gleam, she snarled at him before swiftly raising her arm and firing a red tendril straight at his forehead. She watched as it began to crawl throughout his body, his veins beginning to pulse and glow; he smiled down at her, his originally silver flecked irises now a dark swirling pool of red.

 _“…It saddens me that your anger blinds you.”_ She watched as he moved to kneel next to her, his stained forearm and palm, moving to place a lock of hair behind her ear; she jerked away from him, closing her eyelids tightly as she twisted her head to the side.

 _“…You would have been useful on our endeavour… yet now you are a stepping stone… something which no longer serves a purpose.”_ As the last few words echoed around her, her eyes snapped open, she whirled around, her gaze connecting with dark almost midnight black irises. The dark haired male starred at her dully for a few moments before manoeuvring into a standing position.

_-GENETIC CELLS COMPATIBLE-_

_-INITIATING EXTRACTION PROCESS-_

Wanda blinked dazedly, not having enough time to process the echoed words before a sharp pain jolted through her entire body. Her shrill scream of agony filled the air around her; her voice eventually becoming hoarse and dry as the pain persisted for what felt like hours.

Silence, her barely audible grating pleas, her quiet sobs and screams, they no-longer filled the darkness surrounding her; the pain, the sensation of boiling water searing her internally was replaced with blissful nothing. She blinked in quick succession before shakily raising herself into a sitting elevation, her head swivelled around in an attempt to pinpoint where the man had gone, yet there was nothing but darkness.

_-EXTRACTION COMPLETE-_

_-NEURAL-LINK CONFIRMED-_

_-DE-INITIALISING-_

As her eyes fluttered shut and breathing deepened she slipped into unconsciousness, the words not echoing around her but within the vast darkness that occupied her now sleeping mind.

 

+++

_Establishing Device Connections…_

_WARNING_

_Inactive Devices Detected…_

_Beginning Diagnoses…_

_FF - [R]_

_S - [R]_

_X - [G]_

_D - [G]_

_A - [G]_

_Diagnoses Complete…_

_Unresponsive Devices Queued…_

_Initialising_ _Data Sequencing Confirmation…_

_Rendezvous Identification Confirmed._

_Rendezvous Co-ordinates Confirmed._

_Transmission Sequence Initialised…_

_._

_._

_._

_Transmission Complete._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The language which 'Pietro' and Wanda spoke is Ukranian, being chosen because of the countries close proximity to the con-tenant in-which Sokovia is based in.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading New Initiatives! And I look forward to continuing this story at some point within twenty nineteen.
> 
> Those of you who partake in the festive holidays I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this first part! I can't say when the next chapter will be up sadly, however I aim to have it out within the next two weeks if possible. This story is going to be taking up a large majority of my time, meaning sequels for other Fics will be postponed, for this you have my deepest apologise.
> 
> Sorry if not all of the Russian is up-to scratch, I am using google translate (as I don't speak the language natively) and it can be fairly finicky at times.
> 
>  
> 
> I always love to hear your thoughts whether they are positive or negative.


End file.
